The present invention relates to a high-pressure valve assembly.
Nothing in the following discussion of the state of the art is to be construed as an admission of prior art.
High-pressure valve assemblies are used in high-pressure pumps by which a fluid is pressurized to a pressure of, for example, 4000 bar and above. The valve assembly has a pressure valve having a spring-loaded tappet which is movable in an axial direction and has an end surface to form a sealing surface resting against a complementary end surface of a valve body, when assuming a sealing position, so as to snugly seal a channel during a suction step. The suction valve includes a spring-loaded closure member of annular plate shape which rests on the other end surface of the valve body, when the fluid is set under pressure by a plunger and forced through the channel. In this situation, the closure member snugly seals an inlet on a suction side.
Practice has shown that the relevant parts of the valve assembly are exposed to significant mechanical stress as a consequence of the very high fluid pressure, e.g. tensile stress, causing a notch effect in particular in the outlet zone of the channel. As a result, the service life of the valve assembly is reduced and the applicability of the valve assembly for very high pressures is limited.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved high-pressure valve assembly to obviate prior art shortcomings.